Is it just me or do we as Millennials sometimes have trouble relating to people of a different generation?

Sometimes we find ourselves in awkward situations with nobody our age. In my case, I spend a few hours a week in physical therapy with doctors and patients who are some 50 years my senior. Because my situation is unusual, my therapist never lets me forget it.

“You’re too young to be having all these problems,” he says, looking at my chart.

You think I don’t know that? I feel ridiculous here.

But I always respond with a shy smile and a quick, “Yes, I realize that.”

My last appointment found me in a waiting room full of senior citizens who were granted their “citizenship” probably before I was born. But there I was in the middle of them, waiting for the same treatment as them. I definitely always feel out of place among the old folks, like I should be helping them to and from the door, not estimating my shoulder pain on a scale from one to ten.

However, the most uncomfortable part of this conundrum is the therapy itself. It’s one thing to be a 90-year-old woman having a man massage your shoulders to relieve the muscle tightness. It’s another thing when you’re 20-something.

There is no denying that doctor’s appointments are uncomfortable, but physical therapy just ups the awkwardness a few hundred degrees. The therapist is simultaneously putting his or her hands in all the most embarrassing places and asking what you're doing for spring break. Can we just both admit that neither of us wants to be here and the sooner this is over the better? No, they always act like hearing about my life is the most exciting part of their day, not like I’m a total stranger or anything.

But we all know that the best therapists are the ones who talk about themselves during the procedure and allowing you to sit quietly enduring what feels like a massage on steroids. So they talk and talk, all the while you could care less what Easter dress their daughters wore this year, but still, you hope they keep talking to fill the silence that would otherwise put you both in a weird position.

However, sometimes you don’t have such a talkative doctor during an awkward procedure. What do you do then? Here are a few strategies I’ve learned to spin these uncomfortable situations into empowering ones:

1. Unless I get stuck with a completely introverted doctor who can’t wait until 5 p.m. so he can spend the evening with a cup of tea and a book, I most likely get placed with a doctor who likes to talk about himself. What I’ve learned is that asking the right questions is key to getting through the treatment.

In a recent physical therapy appointment the procedure cascaded into an uncomfortably quiet 60 minutes. When my doctor discovered I had no knowledge of sports, he said nothing more and I was left to fend for myself in finding topics of conversation. In the following appointment, I thoughtfully steered the conversation to the topic of sports and then fired away with my questions. He didn’t stop talking until the end of my the procedure. Success.

2. My therapist is always asking questions about how I injured myself, what tragic events brought me to my low estate.

I don’t want to talk about that. I already have to go around explaining to my friends why I’m in therapy, which is in itself kind of depressing.

So to avoid talking about myself, I usually throw out the question of how he became a therapist. I make sure he spares no details.

3. Finally, a good topic of conversation is current events. However, I always stay clear of religion, politics and money. This is mainly a common courtesy rule, but anyways, who wants to get into a heated discussion about the last presidential debate or the new foreign policy on dealings with Russia? Things like holidays and local happenings are always timely fodder for light conversations; otherwise, I might get backed against a wall trying to explain why I’m a republican.

So there you have it, a few examples for making conversation with people in your life who aren’t from your generation. And as for doctors or therapists who are young and handsome, can we all please stop thinking such inappropriate thoughts? Alas, that could be a whole article in itself.